National Register District - Contributing Local District - Contributing HTC Eligible

About This Property

In November 1881, the Fayette County Commissioners selected the Victorian Gothic design of Andrewarthe & Wahrenbergen for a new prison. The building was completed in mid-1883 at a cost of $30,000. It was built with native limestone from Muldoon, TX, just a short distance from La Grange.

The jail housed a total of 16 cells, with 8 cells on each of its 2 floors and an open area in the middle for meals. The county used the facility for 102 years until the new justice center was built in 1985. Two of its most famous prisoners included Ray Hamilton and Gene O’Dare from the notorious Bonnie & Clyde gang. They robbed the Carmine State Bank in the early 1930s.

The jail underwent a series of renovations which were completed in the 1990s. Since the renovation, the building has served as office space for the La Grange Area Chamber of Commerce and the La Grange Visitors Bureau.